1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to pushcart vending systems for a store or shopping mall, and more particularly to pushcart vending systems that are compact and may be setup in different configurations to fit within different floor spaces in stores or shopping malls.
2. Description of the Related Art
Large stores and shopping malls provide ornate pushcarts with lightweight bodies made of plastic or fiberglass that simulate a motor vehicle, train, airplane or an animal that appeal to small children. Because the pushcarts are more expensive and larger than standard shopping pushcarts, most store and mall operators setup staging areas where the pushcarts are distributed and returned.
The pushcarts are rented to shoppers via coin or credit card vending systems. The vending systems include vending units and tracks that control the distribution and return of pushcarts. The vending systems are self-managing that allows shopping mall customers to rent and remove individual pushcarts from the track after submission of a payment. Typically, vending systems are designed so pushcarts are dispensed from one end of a track and returned at the opposite end of the track. Unfortunately, such vending systems require track configurations with wide open areas adjacent to the ends of the track and allow the pushcart to be removed or returned.
What is needed is a compact pushcart vending system that includes folding pushcart that attaches to a single track and stored in a compact configuration on the track and also allows the pushcart to be dispensed and returned from the same end of the track.